Just reading or hearing the truth is no guarantee that a person is going to believe or continue to believe the truth. It's amazing what lengths people will go through to continue to smoke and what kind of losses will continue to mount--eventually resulting in the total loss of health and possibly even life all because some people will not accept the premise that to stay smoke free they must never take another puff!

Joel

See the comment above, "I DIDN'T NEED A HOUSE TO FALL ON ME TO TELL ME TO QUIT SMOKING." to illustrate that point.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A smoker's risk of stroke due to bleeding in the brain goes up with the number of cigarettes smoked, and those who smoke more than a pack a day have twice the risk of this type of stroke, U.S. scientists reported Thursday.

About 20 percent of all strokes are known as hemorrhagic strokes because they are caused by an uncontrolled bleeding either in or just outside the brain. Doctors have long known that smoking increases the risk of the most common type of stroke, known as ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes are caused by a blocked blood vessel and make up 80 percent of stroke cases.

Now the new study shows that a smoker's risk of hemorrhagic stroke is on par with their risk of ischemic stroke, according to the report in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"Our findings suggest that a person who continues to smoke can dramatically control their risk of stroke by modifying how much they smoke or by choosing to not smoke at all," said Dr. Tobias Kurth, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, in a statement.

In the study, Kurth and colleagues looked at data from the Physicians' Health Study, a large ongoing study of more than 22,000 male doctors.

During 18 years of follow-up, 139 men had hemorrhagic strokes, either due to massive bleeding in the brain or bleeding just outside the brain.

While "never smokers" and past smokers had similar rates of hemorrhagic stroke, those men who smoked fewer than 20 cigarettes a day had 1.65 times the risk of such strokes. Those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day, equivalent to one pack, were twice as likely to have a hemorrhagic stroke.

"Our results add to the multiple health benefits that can be accrued by abstaining from cigarette smoking," the researchers conclude.

This answers a lot of my questions. I cannot believe the stress I put myself and my body through because of addiction to nicotine. After almost two years I am still learning more about health effects caused by smoking and I'm horrified that I actually paid thousands of dollars to do this to myself!!!!!!

Me neither Txgranny. Great to see ya again and hope we're both around for many decades to come : ) My sister quit and embarked on getting healthy. I guess I should follow her lead. Still just one rule for both of us - NONE !

While sitting here waiting for the surgeon to phone with the date of my second femoral (leg) artery bypass operation, thought I'd throw in my own story on this subject.

It didn't happen overnight; in fact, I can probably look back more than five years and see the gradual, very gradual at first, difficulty in walking long distances. Not sure what was causing the problem, I kept on smoking and tried to ignore the problem. If you ignore it long enough, it will just go away on it's own, right? :-)

By the time I reached the end of the smoking road on New Year's eve the effects of 37+ years of abuse of my body were becoming very evident. A chronic smoker's cough, the inablity to walk even one city block, the lack of energy to perform even the smallest household tasks.

Unwilling to even consider seeking medical advice or evaluation until I'd quit smoking, the results of the first rounds of tests were encouraging, except in the circulation category. My lungs were clear, no heart trouble, moderate blood pressure and even my cholestorol levels were normal.

The surgeon I was referred to gave me three choices:

(1) do nothing (except never smoke again) and the lack of circulation in my legs wouldn't get worse
(2) exercise regularly and vigourously, including as much walking as I could handle and my endurance would increase to the point where I could walk a full city block
(3) submit to artery bypass surgery and have at least an 80% chance of a successful outcome for five years or more

At age 52, and desiring a much better quality of life than I was "enjoying", the third option was the obvious choice. The surgeon was very pleased with the outcome of the operation on the totally blocked artery in my left leg, and is ready to work on the right leg as soon as I'm ready.

I'm ready; in fact I couldn't be readier. It's time to get on with my new life without restrictions and enjoy the years (many, I hope) that I've got left.

8:33 p.m. EDT June 21, 2004 - A local man will have his leg amputated Tuesday because of a little-known disease that was born from a well-known addiction.

Nicotine in cigarettes is the only known cause of Buerger's Disease, which has caused Walter Panke's big left toe to turn black, WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Brian Hamrick reported Monday. Other toes in his left foot are dying as well.

"It started in the tip of my toe, and it's been working its way back," he said as he showed Hamrick his discolored bare foot. "I only smoked for seven years."

Now, Panke doesn't have to smoke tobacco to have a reaction. There's so much nicotine in some tobacco plants that all he has to do is touch the leaves or walk into a smoke-filled restaurant. In such instances, he could suffer a reaction so severe that he might have to have the other leg amputated, Hamrick reported.

The reaction inflames the interior of blood vessels, which causes clotting, and eventually cuts off blood flow to the extremities. And the narrowing of the vessels cannot be reversed.

"It can go all the way up your legs," said Panke's father, Dr. Thomas Panke. "It can also involve your arms. This goes far beyond legs. It can cause very serious problems, and can lead to your death."

There's no test for Buerger's Disease, and unfortunately, most are like Panke in that they only find out they're susceptible after the disease has progressed far beyond pain, Hamrick reported.

Department of Public Health Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba-shi, Japan.

To examine the effect of smoking cessation on cardiovascular disease mortality in Asians, the authors conducted a 10-year prospective cohort study of 94,683 Japanese (41,782 men and 52,901 women) aged 40-79 years who were part of the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC Study). During 941,043 person-years of follow-up between 1989-1990 and 1999, 698 deaths from stroke, 348 from coronary heart disease, and 1,555 from total cardiovascular disease occurred in men and 550, 199, and 1,155, respectively, in women.

The risk decline after smoking cessation occurred for coronary heart disease and total cardiovascular disease within 2 years and for total stroke after 2-4 years. For each endpoint and in both age subgroups of 40-64 and 65-79 years, most of the benefit of cessation occurred after 10-14 years following cessation. Findings imply the importance of smoking cessation at any age to prevent cardiovascular disease in Japanese.

i can drop in so rarely now but i always quickly spot something special i want to contribute. for those who weren't around for my story, i was by all other appearances a "healthy" smoker (with my 1/2 pack of "no additive" cigarettes, almost no coughing, could swim a mile at a time, etc.) BUT i was always colder than most people. my hands and feet were especially cold.

three months after i quit my body temperature became average, and most noticeably my hands and feet are normal.

though my lungs MAY have been okay, i have no doubt that quitting literally saved my circulatory system and therefore many years of healthy life.

everyone reading this -- have no doubt, nicotine kills. and there's only one solution -- NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF.

I have to chime in here and add my two cents. For years, my hands and feet were cold to the touch. This progressed to my entire body. My entire body would go ice cold. I was "healthy" in all other respects. I did not know enough to make the connection between this and smoking. Since I've quit smoking, I no longer have this problem. My body temperature is normal to the touch and I am never unusually cold any more.

My husband is quite pleased. ;>

Ana - free from nicotine slavery for 124 days, while adding 8 Days and 15 Hours to my life , by avoiding the use of 2490 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $375.49 better spent on nice things for myself and those I love.

The news media this week is going all out on covering lung cancer, due to the recent death of Peter Jennings and now the announcement of Christopher Reeve's widow, a non-smoker, of getting diagnosed with lung cancer.

You can hear the angst and frustrations of many in these reports as to why there are not better diagnostic tests and treatments for lung cancer. Hopefully there will be one day, but no person should hang their hopes high that a diagnostic test or a cutting edge treatment that will save most lung cancer victims is just around the corner.

The best chance we have today to greatly reduce the number of new cases of lung cancer and to reduce the death rate from lung cancer is to get people to not smoke. No smoker should lose sight of this.

One other important issue needs to be mentioned here. If somehow miraculously someone came up with a magic cure for lung cancer that was immediately available today--the majority of people who are dying from smoking would still die. Lung cancer is not the disease that causes the most premature deaths from smoking. Cardiovascular deaths still out number lung cancer deaths, plus there are a slew of other conditions that smokers die prematurely from other than lung cancer.

The only way to minimize your chance of dying prematurely from all smoking induced illnesses is to make and stick to a personal commitment to never take another puff.

Joel

Last edited by Joel on February 14th, 2015, 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Coronary heart disease and stroke-the primary types of cardiovascular disease caused by smoking-are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. More than 61 million Americans suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. More than 2,600 Americans die every day because of cardiovascular diseases, about 1 death every 33 seconds. (p. 363)

Toxins in the blood from smoking cigarettes contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a progressive hardening of the arteries caused by the deposit of fatty plaques and the scarring and thickening of the artery wall. Inflammation of the artery wall and the development of blood clots can obstruct blood flow and cause heart attacks or strokes. (p. 364-365)

Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Coronary heart disease results from atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries. (p. 384, 407)

In 2003, an estimated 1.1 million Americans had a new or recurrent coronary attack. (p. 384)

Cigarette smoking has been associated with sudden cardiac death of all types in both men and women. (p. 387)

Smoking-related coronary heart disease may contribute to congestive heart failure. An estimated 4.6 million Americans have congestive heart failure and 43,000 die from it every year. (p. 387)

Smoking low-tar or low-nicotine cigarettes rather than regular cigarettes appears to have little effect on reducing the risk for coronary heart disease. (p. 386, 407)

Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of strokes. (p. 393)

The U.S. incidence of stroke is estimated at 600,000 cases per year, and the one-year fatality rate is about 30%. (p. 393)

The risk of stroke decreases steadily after smoking cessation. Former smokers have the same stroke risk as nonsmokers after 5 to 15 years. (p. 394)

Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm. (p. 397)

Citation

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004.

From above:
One condition though stands out as being truly unique and in many ways, demonstrates the real addictive nature of nicotine better than any other cause. The condition is known as Buerger's Disease (thromboangiitis obliterans.) Buerger's Disease is a condition where there is a complete cutoff of circulation to the finger or toes, resulting in gangrene.

The most common age bracket that this disease strikes is in people between the ages of 20 to 40, normally young to get circulation problems that result in amputations. While it is much more common in men, women are affected to. What makes Bueger's Disease unique is that it is a disease that is basically exclusive to smokers. There are almost no documented cases of this disease happening in a non-smoker. Smoking is the primary etiologic factor. This is a rare disease, but noteworthy because of this unique nature of happening only in smokers.

If a smoker gets lung cancer, the person and other people can sometimes think, "well non-smokers sometimes get lung cancer too, maybe cigarettes didn't cause it." Same thing with heart attacks or strokes, non-smokers get them too, smokers just get them much more often. But again a certain level of denial can be exhibited and there is no way to conclusively prove that cigarette did it. But Buerger's Disease, having no other known cause and basically never happening in non-smokers does not lend itself to such denials. When a doctor determines he or she is dealing with a Buerger's Disease patient, a basic ultimatum is going to be delivered-quit smoking or lose your limb-your choice! If we were dealing with simply a bad habit, how many people given such an ultimatum and knowing it is true would continue doing the particular behavior given such consequences?

If you read this article you will see how the oxygen demands of the heart are increased because of carbon monoxide exposure from smoking. If a person has lung problems, this even creates a more dangerous scenario, for the lungs have to work get more oxygen to the heart to meet the hearts increased oxygen demands. The lungs are semi-impaired in getting meeting the oxygen demands. The blood is having a harder time carrying the oxygen. This means the heart as to work harder, to get more blood and more oxygen to itself, because it is working harder. It is a vicious and deadly circle that will stop the day you quit smoking and will never be repeated as long as you stick to a personal commitment to never take another puff.

Thank you for bringing this up front again. This is a real biggie for me.To have it brought up today was really neat since I TURNED GREEN TODAY!!!!My Doctor had told me years ago that she thought I had Buergers Disease. I'm not sure if I really have it or if it is just circulation problems. My hands and feet were always cold and at times it was almost like you could see my veins running thru my arms and legs, they were so purple! My toes were very touchy and would hurt terribly....my toe nails also started looking very bad the last year or so.But, that didn't convince me to quit....I really started getting serious about getting in shape and started a new workout. I could handle the workout physically but, I would have to stop because I couldn't catch my breath.That really bothered me. So, after doing nicotine lozenges and trying to cut back and all that. I finally found this site and read, and read, and read some more.When I knew I was ready...I stopped smoking. It has been the single hardest thing that I have ever done....and the most rewarding. I am so proud of myself!I'm working out in the mornings now. I have the time and the energy now.My breathing is still and issue but my toes don't hurt and my nails are already looking much better.I have no doubt that if I wouldn't have stopped smoking that I would be one of those people who would have lost toes, feet, my legs....and, probably my life, much too early!Thank you for being here for me! Cindy My Quit Date 2/28/07. I have been Free & Healing for One Month, 4 Hours and 12 Minutes, while extending my life 1 Day and 15 Hours, by avoiding the use of 479 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $89.91.Edited for brand name

The tobacco industry markets potentially reduced exposure products (PREPs) as less harmful or addictive alternatives to conventional cigarettes. This study compared the effects of mainstream smoke from Quest, Eclipse, and 2R4F reference cigarettes on the development of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE -/-) mice. Mice were exposed to smoke from four cigarette 18 types for 12 weeks beginning at age of 12 weeks, and in a separate study for 8 weeks, beginning at age of 8 weeks. In both studies, mice exposed to smoke from high-nicotine, high-tar Quest 1, and 2R4F cigarettes developed greater areas of lipid-rich aortic lesions than did non-smoking controls. Exposure to smoke from the lower-nicotine products, Eclipse, and Quest 3, was associated with smaller lesion areas, but animals exposed to smoke from all of the tested types of cigarette had larger lesions than did control animals not exposed to smoke. Urinary levels of isoprostane F2 alpha VI, increased proportionally to cigarette nicotine yield, whereas induction of pulmonary cytochrome P4501A1 was proportional to tar yield. Lesion area was associated with both nicotine and tar yields, although in multiple regression analysis only nicotine was a significant predictor of lesion area. Smoke exposure did not alter systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), blood cholesterol, or leukocyte count. Taken together, these observations suggest that smoking may accelerate atherosclerosis by increasing oxidative stress mediated at least in part via the actions of nicotine.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Otherwise healthy men who smoke risk developing erectile dysfunction -- and the more cigarettes they smoke, the greater the risk of erectile dysfunction, according to a new study.

Erectile dysfunction is the consistent inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. In a study of 4,763 Chinese men aged 35 to 74 years who were free of blood vessel disease and who reported that they had been sexually active within the last 6 months, the researchers found a significant statistical link between the number of cigarettes smoked and the likelihood of erectile dysfunction.

"The association between cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction was found in earlier studies," said first author Dr. Jiang He of Tulane University School of Public Health, New Orleans. "However, most of those studies were conducted in patients with hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and cardiovascular disease. What distinguishes this study is that it is the first to find this association among healthy men."

Overall, men who smoked had a 41-percent greater risk of erectile dysfunction than men who did not, the team reports in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

And there was a clear "dose-response" relationship, meaning that the more the men smoked, the higher was their risk of erectile dysfunction. Compared with non-smokers, men who smoked up to 10 cigarettes per day had a 27-percent greater likelihood of erectile dysfunction ; those who smoked 11 to 20 butts a day had a 45-percent greater likelihood of erectile dysfunction; and those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily had a-65 percent greater chance of suffering erectile dysfunction.

The investigators estimate that 22.7 percent of erectile all dysfunction cases among healthy Chinese men - or 11.8 million cases -- might be caused by cigarette smoking.

And even when cigarette smokers quit, their risk of developing erectile dysfunction did not decrease. The risk of erectile dysfunction was statistically about the same for former cigarette smokers as for current cigarette smokers, the authors found.

"This study really has a strong message for young men," He said. "It may get their attention if they know that smoking is associated with erectile dysfunction -- even in the healthy population."

BACKGROUND: Stroke survivors are at high risk of recurrent strokes and other vascular events. Smoking is an established risk factor for stroke, with cessation recommended for secondary prevention. Little is known about patterns of smoking cessation after stroke.

DESIGN: A prospective cohort of patients was identified.

METHODS: Data were derived from the population-based South London Stroke Register. Self-reported smoking status was measured at the time of stroke, at 3 months, and at 1 and 3 years after stroke. Stroke survivors, who were smoking at the time of stroke and were alive 3 years later, were included. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, risk factors, stroke subtype, disability, and probability of attempting and maintaining smoking cessation.

RESULTS: Complete smoking data were available for 363 survivors with strokes between 1995 and 2003. In all, 71% of the smokers had attempted to quit within 3 years; 30% had quit and maintained cessation at 1 and 3 years; 10% had quit immediately after stroke, but had subsequently relapsed (smoking again at 1 and 3 years); and 25% of the smokers had quit after 3 months. Black ethnicity [odds ratio (OR): 6.20; confidence interval (CI): 2.39-16.10] and more severe disability (P=0.035) were predictors of attempts to quit. Older age (OR: 0.30; CI: 0.13-0.71) and black ethnicity (OR: 0.30; CI: 0.15-0.60) reduced the likelihood of smoking at 3 years. Among those attempting cessation, being older predicted maintenance (OR: 4.50; CI: 1.50-13.51).

CONCLUSION: The majority of smokers had attempted to quit after stroke; however, a minority achieved sustained cessation in the longer term. Cessation patterns are complex, and interventions should be targeted at multiple time points.

Risk Factors for Venous Thromboembolism.
Results From the Copenhagen City Heart Study

Circulation. Published Online on April 19, 2010

Anders G. Holst MD, Gorm Jensen MD, DMSc, and Eva Prescott MD, DMSc

AbstractBackground—Studies have suggested a link between risk factors for atherosclerotic disease and venous thromboembolism (VTE), but results are heterogeneous. We sought to identify risk factors for VTE with a focus on risk factors for atherosclerotic disease.Methods and Results—Data were taken from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, a prospective cohort study of a random, age-stratified sample of people living in a defined area in Copenhagen, Denmark, started in 1976 with follow-up until 2007. First VTE (deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) diagnosis was retrieved from electronic national registries from study baseline to 2007. Of 18 954 subjects (median follow-up, 19.5 years) representing 360 399 person-years of follow-up, 969 subjects experienced at least 1 VTE, corresponding to a crude incidence rate of 2.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.52 to 2.86) per 1000 person-years. The variables found to be significantly associated with VTE in a multivariable model adjusted for age and calendar time were as follows: body mass index (hazard ratio for ≥35 versus <20=2.10 [95% CI, 1.39 to 3.16]); smoking (HR for ≥25 g tobacco per day versus never smoker=1.52 [95% CI, 1.15 to 2.01]); gender (HR for men versus women=1.24 [95% CI, 1.08 to 1.42]); household income (HR for medium versus low=0.82 [95% CI, 0.70 to 0.95]); and diastolic blood pressure (HR for >100 versus <80 mm Hg=1.34 [95% CI, 1.08 to 1.66]). Other cardiovascular risk factors including total/high-density lipoprotein/low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and diabetes mellitus were not associated with VTE.[/size][/font]Conclusions—Obesity and smoking were both found to be important risk factors for VTE whereas total/high-density lipoprotein/low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and diabetes mellitus were not.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obesity and smoking may each raise a person's risk of potentially dangerous blood clots in the veins, but certain other suspected risk factors seem to have no impact, a new study finds.
The study, reported in the journal Circulation, investigated risk factors for venous thromboembolism -- blood clots in the veins, usually affecting the legs. If one of these clots travels to the lungs, creating what is called a pulmonary embolism, it can prove fatal.

Some studies have suggested that venous thromboembolism, or VTE, has largely the same risk factors as heart disease does, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.
But most of those risk factors have not consistently been linked to VTE. Obesity has stood as the only condition strongly linked to both VTE and cardiovascular disease -- including heart disease and peripheral artery disease, a hardening and narrowing of the arteries supplying the legs.

In the new study, researchers found that among nearly 19,000 Danish adults followed for 20 years, those who were obese or heavy smokers had an increased risk of developing VTE (a clot in a deep vein or a pulmonary embolism).
Compared with non-smokers, those who smoked 25 cigarettes a day or more had a 52 percent greater risk. Meanwhile, obese adults were 65 percent more likely than the thinnest men and women to develop VTE, while severe obesity was linked to a doubling in the risk.

"The main message for the public from our study is that losing weight and quitting smoking are likely to not only reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease, but also of venous thromboembolism," lead researcher Dr. Anders G. Holst, of University Hospital Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, told Reuters Health in an email.

On the other hand, the study found no evidence that diabetes, exercise levels, high cholesterol or high triglycerides (another type of blood fat) were linked to an elevated VTE risk. And while elevated diastolic blood pressure appeared to be a risk factor, a diagnosis of high blood pressure was not. That raises the possibility that the former finding was due to chance, and not a true effect, according to the researchers.

The findings come from a long-term study begun in 1976, looking at heart disease risk factors among adults age 20 and older living in Copenhagen.

Of 18,954 study participants followed for 20 years, 969 had at least one VTE during that time. Obesity and current smoking remained linked to higher risks even after the researchers accounted for age, sex and other health factors.
The findings suggest that two already-recommended lifestyle changes -- shedding excess pounds and quitting smoking -- are key in lowering VTE risk, according to Holst.

He also noted that the lack of a link between cholesterol and VTE is interesting, as a recent clinical trial of the cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor) found a lower risk of VTE among patients using the medication.
The current findings, Holst said, suggest that the benefit did not come from cholesterol-lowering, per se, but from some other effect of statins.